The pod used by IAF Mirage 2000H was a modified version of the Thomson CSF ATLIS LDP (not ATLIS II as widely believed)

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So my initial assertion was correct...eventhough I wasn't even sure of it myself. Thanks for clearing that up, Tejas

However, I'm still not aware of what is the purpose of these modifications (and what additional capability they bring)? What's the reason for the bulge on the underside and what's with the different tail section?

So my initial assertion was correct...eventhough I wasn't even sure of it myself. Thanks for clearing that up, Tejas

However, I'm still not aware of what is the purpose of these modifications (and what additional capability they bring)? What's the reason for the bulge on the underside and what's with the different tail section?

Click to expand...

Not much is known about the ATLIS LDP (it was basically a prototype and never entered production as Marietta left the program before completion)
The French offered the incomplete pods in limited numbers to interested customers and modified them according to the customer needs) The French completed the program and production version was named as ATLIS-II to avoid confusion.

"Background. ATLIS development began in the 1970s as
part of a joint effort between the French firm Thomson-
CSF — which at the time had little experience in this area
— and Martin Marietta. The result of that collaboration
was the ATLIS I, a design intended to simply establish the
feasibility of a laser designator on a single-seat aircraft. It
flew successfully on a YF-16 in 1976, and went on to
become the first targeting pod to be qualified on the F-16.
This was followed by French testing on a Jaguar. The
demonstration phase ended in 1979 when nine Texas
Instrument bombs were launched successfully using the
pod.

Differing national requirements split the team that year;
Martin Marietta went on to use its experience to build the
LANTIRN pod (see separate report). The LANTIRN pod
incorporated a terrain-following radar and wide-field-of-
view FLIR with night and navigation capabilities in
addition to its navigational pod. France had no such
requirement at the time, and opted to develop a pod for
daytime use only at first."

"The ATLIS II name implies that it is a second-generation
device. ATLIS was apparently the designation given to
prototype units used during joint experiments with Martin-
Marietta. The Roman numerals "II" seem to have appeared
at about the time the two companies parted; evidence
suggests that since that time, all ATLIS devices have
actually been ATLIS II."

It was in 1975 that Thomson-CSF signed a contract with Martin Marietta Aerospace (now Lockheed Martin) for the development of a guidance pod equipped with a range finder and laser designator developed by CILAS. Tested by the Air Force on Jaguar for several years, Atlis led to a more complex system called Atlis II associated with a visualization of cabin and a guidance system (via digibus) adapted to the shooting of the bomb BGL 1000 and missile AS30L. Atlis II was later used on the Super Estendard Naval Aeronautics during the war in Kosovo, to ensure the laser guidance of GBU-12 bombs.

[Text] The French Air Force is undoubtedly going to be the world's first
able to equip its single-seat aircraft with a pod for fire control and automatic
objective designation by laser beam, in this instance the Thomson-
CSF [Thomson-General Radio Company] Atlis 2 pod. As a matter of fact the
air force has just authorized mass production of the Atlis 2 pod in order to
equip the single-seat Jaguar and Mirage 2000. These airplanes will be able
to use the French Atlis 2 pod for launching various laser guided missiles
(utilizing the Ariel laser self-guidance of Thomson-CSF) such as the AS 30
Laser air-ground missile of AEROSPATIALE [National Industrial Aerospace
Company] (with range of 10 to 12 kilometers) and the 100-millimeter rocket
of Thomson-brandt (with range of 1 to 6 kilometers) which has already undergone
100 test firings from Mirage 3 and Mirage Fl airplanes, as well as the
MATRA-SAMP 400-kilogram bomb in the project phase (with a laser head derived
from the Ariel).

Operational evaluation of the Atlis 2 pod, which took place from October
1976 to January 1978 at the Cazaux Flight Test Center with a Jaguar was highly
satisfactory. It proved that an experienced pilot could effectively
operate the pod after only two training flights. The tests made it possible
to verify the compatibility of the pod with the aircraft and the AS 30 laser
missile; it even showed it was possible to spot objectives through a small
cloud or fog bank, which had not been expected.

The Atlis 2 pod, developed cooperatively by Thomson-CSP of France and Martin
Marietta of the United States, will be massed produced for the French air
force with Thomson-CSF as general contractor. The initial phase of the mass
production comprises an evaluation (in progress)of the second prototype
pod conforming to the production specifications (weight reduced to 125 kilograms,
extended range of utilization, interchangeability, self-testing, interface
with modern aircraft, and common logistics) as well as a qualification
phase (mechanical tests, thermal tests, and so forth) with another pod, and
fabrication of production tooling.

Martin Marietta is participating in the definition of the production pod in
order that it be compatible with the American F 16 airplane with a view toward
Joint Frcnrh and American production of the Atlis 2. Martin Marietta in part-
icular has with its own funds financed fabrication of a complete pod for
flight tests aboard the F 16 which took place in July-August 1978 in the
desert area of China Lake, California. The compatibility of this pod with
the F 16 was demonstrated; likewise the performance of the system: stability
of laser illumination from the airplane as good as that from the ground, and
precision of guidance to various targets (tanks, mobile guns, and so forth).The tests also showed the feasibility of changing a missile's objective after
launching and of attacking a group of from three to six tanks in a single
pass (by successive designation of targets to the missiles after the first
acquisition). An anecdote illustrates the performance level of the Atlis
pod: the American pilots were amazed at being able to "track" a rabbit at
distance of 3 kilometers from an F 16 flying at 150-200 meters altitude.
The U.S. Air Force is very much interested in the Atlis pod, which is the
only one now existing in the United States for single-seat airplanes; the
other existing American pods (Northrop's LATAR and Westinghouse's Dave
Penny) are designed solely for two-seat aircraft. The Atlis 2 pod is also
of interest to NATO countries which have the F 16. It was recently shown to
the British chief of staff as a pod associated with Sabre light laser guided
air-ground missiles. The Luftwaffe is also interested for equipping its
Phantom and Tornado aircraft. For its part the German Dornier firm is to
study the feasibility of installing the pod upon the Alpha-Jet.

"To GESSLER: VMT & upon checking my brochure/air show visit note archives of the mid-1980s, I got the following information: France was on the lookout for developing a single unitary day/night navigation/targetting pod & so Thomson-CSF then got in touch with Martin Marietta, which had already developed the twin-pod LANTIRN system. Later, convinced that a twin-pod solution was unacceptable to the French DGA from an operational standpoint, T-CSF developed a single pod under the DGA’s Project PATRIC under which the pod had a bulged underside inside which T-CSF installed a Doppler altitude-finding sensor that was then already developed by Dassault Electronique & was originally meant for installation on board attack & CSAR helicopters of France. On combat aircraft, this sensor was interfaced with the on-board moving-map display for low-altitude (not terrain-hugging) navigation. Such pods, however, were not allowed for export & the export variant MINUS the height-finding Doppler sensor & night sight was designated as the ATLIS-2, which was subsequently exported to India, Iraq & Pakistan in the mid-1980s. The photo showing IAF Mirage 2000 KF-105 at Aero India 2003 shows it with both the ATLIS-2 pod along with Matra/Thomson Brandt BLG-66 Belouga cluster bomb & belly-mounted Matra laser-guided BGL."